Kakashi Hatake
by drueydue12
Summary: Kakashi never thought he'd be a father. Never thought he'd fall in love. Set after the war. I stink at summaries.


I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related. I am not that awesome like Masashi Kishimoto

It was the 6th anniversary that marked the end to the Shinobi World War that freed the tailed beasts and reunited the nations.

Madara had been defeated. There were so many that had lost their lives but thankfully, there were many that did not. At the moment, Kakashi wasn't exactly happy to be counted among the living.

Guy was gone. Obito was gone. Just two of the friends that had impacted his life for the better, gone. It made him realize how precious friendships were. How he should have cherished them more.

As he walked through the newly reconstructed Leaf, Kakashi was yet again feeling the guilt the living often carried when thinking about their fallen comrades.

To say that he wanted to die was a bit extreme. The life continuing on around him made him happy. At times. But he was a bit of a sadden soldier these days.

Naruto had survived and so did Sakura. As their mentor he would have felt like an utter failure if he lived and they died. Seeing them grow into fine shinobi gave him some peace of mind.

But Sasuke had died.

He had given up Sasuke for lost before the war but he still felt some pain for the misguided boy. He remembered when he once thought of him as his most promising student.

There were still times when he thought that he simply didn't do enough to prevent Sasuke from deserting.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto shouted louder than necessary, given that he was only a few steps away. Kakashi sighed as he watched Naruto clumsily rush towards him. But then he smiled.

This was the present. Let go of the past.

"Naruto, back from a mission?"

"Yep. I had to transport some cargo to the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Killer Bee is just as tough as ever."

"Couldn't resist a fight, huh?"

"Nope. Where are you off to? Ramen?"

"No, sorry. Have business with the Hokage."

"Aw man. Well I'm super hungry sensei. I'll catch you later."

Kakashi waved him off then allowed his darker thoughts to return. He knew why the Hokage wanted to see him and he was in no mood to sit through another lecture.

The village was in a state of reconstruction. The buildings were up and running but there was still the problem of securing supplies, alliances, and of course, the population.

Tsunade had been pressuring Kakashi since the end of the war, to find a wife and reproduce. Six years she's been offering him candidates and for six years he had been dodging her. Quite a feat considering she was one of the most dangerous nins alive.

Yes he would honestly admit that he was sidestepping his Hokage. She had withheld missions from him, forced him into long bouts of boredom and even tried to have him serve as a mentor again.

He failed that group of students and dashed their hopes so severely that Tsunade removed him from the mentor list entirely. Not that that upset him. He had no desire to mentor again.

His days as teacher were over.

"Ah, Kakashi Hatake," Tsunade greeted. "You're early. A rarity for you."

"Hai, what can I do for you Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade could feel something was different. He was far more distant than he usually was. It was something she had noticed over the past few months and she was beginning to worry that she might be losing one of her most prized shinobi.

If he requested to take leave for a while, she would be hard pressed to tell him no which mean he would leave and probably never return. He would go and travel for years like Jiraiya. He would distance himself from the life of a shinobi like she would if she could.

He really didn't have anything tying him to the village. He had friends and former students but the Leaf was reaching its intended goal of stability and the missions were becoming less frequent.

Although she felt that he deserved a life of peace and freedom, she couldn't help but feel that she needed to do all she could to ensure he stay with the village.

"Suna is sending some eligible women over next week. I want you to host them."

'Again' Thought Kakashi. Didn't he just do that for, some other village?

"Of course Hokage. I will serve as an ambassador for the Leaf and ensure their visit is pleasant."

She knew that was all she'd get out of him so Tsunade dismissed him and held her head in hands as she contemplated the future she'd give anything to foresee.

It was getting late and Kakashi wanted nothing more than to go home and rest. Save for a few tasks around the village, he hadn't really done anything too strenuous for the day. Still, he felt exhausted from his thoughts.

Turning the corner onto his street, he watched Kurenai Yuhi in the distance walk away with her son. He had watched her often throughout the years and his thoughts were always the same. How did she do it?

Raising a son alone had to be difficult. Matched with the fact that she had lost her love to the ways of the shinobi world and yet allowed her son to train under the very nindo that killed his father.

But occurrences like that were quite common in the nin community. Children of the killed growing up to continue the cycle.

He had never felt that compulsion. To have a family. To raise a son. To have a wife. To love her.

No. He felt in his heart that this was as happy as he would ever be. It was more than he deserved.

He fell asleep that night with a restless mind. His dreams took him to places he didn't want to revisit. The battlefields. The fights.

But he couldn't get away from it. All he could do was toss and turn and let it start all over again. That was until some unknown energy pulled him from the dreamworld.

By the time he felt it, it was too late. How could he let someone enter his home without him sensing it? He truly was slacking.

He rose slowly, whoever it was already had the jump on him. He needed to keep the situation calm until he could take advantage of his opponent's over confidence.

His senses were temporarily paralyzed with shock, however, as he regarded the intruder sitting atop his dresser. A child? Ten? No, younger. Seven maybe?

His eyes were covered by a piece of fabric, leaving only the bottom half of his face visible. Kakashi activated his sharigan but it didn't give him much help. The fabric over the boy's eyes wouldn't let is eye through. All he saw was a weird chakra pattern.

So the boy was a nin.

"Can I help you," Kakashi finally asked after a few tense seconds. When the boy didn't respond, he knew that he couldn't be a nin of the Leaf. His position gave him respect that earned him quick answers from his subordinates.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Again, no response. Kakashi was readying himself for an attack when an abrupt sigh caught him off guard.

"You have no food in your frig." The small boy stated, then crossed his arms, as if bored.

Confused but aware he had to stay focused, Kakashi sat up fully. "No, I rarely do. Bit lazy when it comes to house duties."

"I know," the boy responded. The way he said it made it seem as if he had known Kakashi his whole life. But Kakashi was more than certain that he had never met the boy.

Had he been spying on him for a while? That was the only logical reasoning he could think of.

Kakashi's heart beat picked up at the thought of being spied on without knowing. The thought both alarmed yet intrigued him. Was the boy that good? Or was this yet another example of a nin loosing his skill.

"Who are you? Are you going to give me answer?" Kakashi asked calmly.

"Yeah, alright. I'll give you an answer, old man." The boy smirked. "I'm you."

"Excuse me?"

"You're old and hard of hearing so I'll take pity on you and say it again. I'm you. In a sense."

Kakashi felt like asking for an explanation wouldn't lead him anywhere and only provoke more games. "Why are you here?"

"Why am I here in this room? Or this timeframe?"

Now Kakashi knew he was being messed with. His patience was wearing thin.

"Whatever village sent you, whatever motives you may have to bring harm to the Leaf, I suggest you,"

"I'm not from a village, old one. I'm not a nin." The boy hissed. "You made sure of that."

Kakashi didn't know what to say but he knew that he was tired of this game that seemed rigged with cryptic answers. He needed to capture the boy and send him straight to ANBU to start extracting some information. But before he could put his plan into action, the boy recognized his stance and stopped him cold.

"You don't want to do that." He expelled a breath of air. "Father." He added then sighed again. "You don't want to hurt your only son."

OoO

Thanks for reading. There will be some flashbacks later on in the story to detail more of what happened after the war. Kakashi is my favorite character and although I don't think it will happen in the manga, I would love to see what a son of his would look like. (sigh) But I don't think it will happen. But hey, hopefully I will be proven dead wrong.


End file.
